Leon Shelley
European general counsel and company secretary
Westfield Shoppingtowns
Leon Shelley’s first move out of private practice in 2000 as a banker at UBS Warburg was not well timed: he left just as the tech bubble burst. He returned to private practice before joining Westfield Shoppingtowns in 2005 as its first UK general counsel.
He has since become part of the company’s remarkable expansion in the UK, growing the legal team to 14 individuals, of which ten are lawyers, to include leasing, development and corporate specialists.
For Shelley, the biggest UK deal was the Chelsfield joint takeover in 2004, which paved the way for the opening of the Westfield London centre in October 2008 and the development of the £4bn Stratford City development in 2011 – the mixed-use project adjacent to the Olympic Park.
He led the company through the challenges of leasing and opening the Westfield centre as the economic downturn took hold, as well as opening Stratford City prior to the Olympic Games’ start. Most recently, Westfield sold a 50% interest in the retail component of Stratford City for £871.5m to a new joint venture and secured planning permission for a very large extension.
Westfield spends between £7m-10m on external legal advice, with the majority going on corporate and development work. While it doesn’t have a formal legal panel, Shelley turns to a small number of trusted firms. He also singles out advisers he likes to work with, especially partners Hugh Lumby at Ashurst and Michael Goldberg at SJ Berwin.
Law firms used: Ashurst, DAC Beachcroft, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, SJ Berwin, SNR Denton
2005-present: European general counsel and company secretary, Westfield Shoppingtowns
2001-05: Associate, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
2000-01: Associate, UBS Warburg